Air France black boxes located in Atlantic

[Philtor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8664127.stm

Gen Christian Baptiste told AFP that retrieving the boxes from the ocean floor might be impossible.

Can't understand this.... If they can send a robot down to the depth the Titanic came to rest at, why can't they do the same to retrieve the black boxes?

 

[Andr3w]

Maybe it's even deeper.

 

[sniffy]

I think it's more they know roughly where it is, not its exact location. They got that location from weak data they received when the box was still omitting signals.

 

[Philtor]

@ Andr3w

Yes that goes without saying but the technology exist's for remotely operated submarines and/or robots to work at these extreme depths.

 

[Participant]

Can't understand this.... If they can send a robot down to the depth the Titanic came to rest at, why can't they do the same to retrieve the black boxes?

Maybe it's even deeper.

Maybe Gen Christian Baptiste just meant that they might not be able to get them if they've gone down a narrow trench? Maybe it's nothing to do with the depth?

 

[arknor]

more like it would cost to much money so they wont bother as there is no profit in it

 

[Philtor]

That's what im thinking arknor, although Airbus should be helping to sponsor it as it's in their interests to learn what happened.

 

[Participant]

more like it would cost to much money so they wont bother as there is no profit in it

There doesn't always have to be a direct financial gain in order to rescue someone or something. Do lifeguards make a profit every time they rescue a struggling swimmer?

Ultimately the profit comes in potentially learning the reason for the crash and reducing the chance of it occurring again.

 

[Cosimo]

Last we heard the search was going on:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18015499&page=22

and they probably won't stop unless it is impossible.

 

[iNPUt]

Black boxes should defiantly have buoyancy aids.

 

[Philtor]

Black boxes should defiantly have buoyancy aids.

Often wondered about this as well. Like some sort of float that activates on contact with water.

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Often wondered about this as well. Like some sort of float that activates on contact with water.

But they dont know what its still going to be attached to after a plane crashes.

 

[Mr_White]

"It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000m (9,800ft) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps,"

Might be a clue

 

[HAz]

so basically they haven't found it LOL! stupid news report

 

[iamtheoneneo]

its from the bbc - are you surprised?

 

[Paramount]

If the blackbox is so far down they can't get it then surely the crushing pressure of the sea would have smashed it?

 

[Philtor]

"It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000m (9,800ft) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps,"

That does sound quite difficult I suppose, but that's why they are equipped with homing beacons

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

That does sound quite difficult I suppose, but that's why they are equipped with homing beacons

Which has no doubt long run out of power and stopped transmitting.

 

[Antar Bolaeisk]

But they dont know what its still going to be attached to after a plane crashes.

I wonder why they can't just have an emergency jettison button that launches a black box away from the plane (there are two aren't there?) when things become dire.

Fair enough the last thing going through a pilots' minds when the ground is hurtling towards them is "oh I must launch the black box" but there's probably some way to automate the procedure, say when velocity limitations, a minimum altitude and extreme g-force requirements are met.

 

[Philtor]

Yeah that's true. Hope they do manage to retrieve them to we hear exactly what happened. Im very interested in this sort of thing just.